Pont du Gard

Roman agueduct original photo with slight alteration for perspective in

image editing as the view was from a low location and the lens without

possibilities of tilt and shift. I was glad the sky was cloudless as the

aqueduct architecture is I think better shown against an uncluttered

background. Perhaps of more graphic appearance in my B&W version.

Out of the two versions you posted, I prefer this one. Despite usually having a preference for black and white, I think here overall colour is more pleasing and does more justice to the composition. Especially the inclusion of the rock below (which I find quite effective) gets a bit more lost in the B&W version.

Wouter, thanks for viewing and commenting.  You are really quite right about the rock being more apparent (and differentiated from the aqueduct) in the colour version, although I think the B&W does work fairly well to emphasize the hemicyclindrical construction compared to the more random design of the surrounding nature. The rock was important for me to include in the image as the approximately 2000 year old architecture is of cut stone. Most photos I've seen isolate the aqueduct or show it with contemporary water life below. B&W might work better in the form of a more contrasty IR or IR + sepia image.

From the differing tones of the two, the bedrock of the river (Gardon) was on the other hand not the source of the building stone. It probably came from a quarry and stone cutting facility in the region, or to the east of it (thanks to virtually unlimited slave manpower), but our short visit to the aqueduct didn't allow much historical background.